onWelcomingchildrenfrom otherfaithsGillMarchant andAndrewSmith

TopTips

© Diocese of Birmingham 2020First published by Scripture Union 2007All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrievalsystem, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the Diocese ofBirmingham.Scripture quotations are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONALVERSION, (NIV), © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permissionof Hodder & Stoughton, a division of Hodder Headline Ltd.All rights reserved.The right of Gill Marchant and Andrew Smith to be identified as authors of this work hasbeen asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.Design and layout:Alex Taylor, Creative Daydream (www.creativedaydream.co.uk)

Sarah Mayers was the commissioning editor who created and developed the Top Tipseries of booklets.The vision behind the series was driven by her passion to reachchildren and young people with the good news of Jesus. She wanted to equip children’sand youth workers to be as effective as possible.This was the last book that she edited before her death in December 2006.We aregrateful to God for her life and ministry, aware that the impact of the books she wroteand edited will be felt for many years to come.

How can churches work effectively with children of different faiths? Is it appropriateto invite them to church-based activities? Should we ever expect them to embracethe Christian faith, and what would that mean for their family? How can we showGod’s love and care for all children regardless of their background?These are complex and significant questions and over the years Christians havearrived at different conclusions. People may be looking for different answers and mayhold varying attitudes towards the authority of scripture.Take this for example.Whenthinking about whether people of other faiths will be in heaven there are threetraditional standpoints:• Exclusivism affirms the uniqueness of Christ andasserts that it is only by explicit faith in him thatanyone can be saved.• Inclusivism affirms the uniqueness of Christ butincludes the possibility that the death of Christhas been the means of salvation for those whodo not specifically believe in him.• Pluralism affirms God’s love for all his creationand sees different religions as different (and equallyvalid) ways of responding to that love.These questions are important, and there is aglossary of recommended books so you can find outmore, for there is a limit to what we can cover in abook this size. However, we need to avoid getting side-tracked into seeing the children we meet as scalps to win or as abstracttheological problems rather than individuals within a family. It is also worth noting thatit is in only a few places that the Bible directly addresses questions relating to otherfaiths. However, there is teaching about how God’s people down through the ageshave (or should have) lived among people of other faiths and continued to stand outas God’s people.

Introduction

ThinkaboutWhat questions havemotivated your interest inministry with children ofother faiths? Write downthe assumptions or beliefsyou hold as you start toread this book.

3

In John 14:6, Jesus states that he is the way, thetruth and the life and that no one can come tothe Father except through him.This verseproclaims truth about Jesus and his uniqueness.These are profound truths that are fundamental tothe Christian faith. But let’s ask some moresearching questions: who was Jesus talking to andhow were they feeling at the time? What was therest of the conversation about? What was Jesustrying to tell his friends?Jesus’ disciples were feeling uncertain and frightened aboutthe future.They weren’t engaging in a philosophical discussion about whowould or would not come to God. Put in its wider context, John 14:6doesn’t tell us how we should treat people of other faiths orhow we might enable them to come to faith in Jesus.

For most of the centuries covered by theBible, God’s people lived in what wewould now call multi-faith ormulticultural societies – living inEgypt or exiled into Babylon, orduring the period covered in theNew Testament, where societywas a mixture of Jew and Gentile,pagan,Arian, Greek. It was onlywhen they lived in the desert orwere establishing the kingdomsof Israel and Judah that theywere a more monochromesociety. But even then, people ofother faiths were always in thebackground of the stories we read.There is nothing new about ourmulticultural situation.We are living in asociety that closely resembles that ofmuch of Bible times, and particularly thatof the New Testament.

Some Biblical reflectionson living among peopleof other faiths

ThinkaboutRead the following Biblepassages asking how muchthey focus on belief orbehaviour. Leviticus19:9–10,33–34;Deuteronomy 10:18,19;24:19; Joshua 24:14–24.

ThinkaboutUsing an online Bible to look up the words‘alien’ and ‘foreigner’, skim through the Biblelooking to see what pattern emerges. In theBible aliens and foreigners were those fromdifferent backgrounds and religions many ofwhom were living amongst God’s people.Whilst the terms aliens and foreigners areunhelpful today as we relate to children ofdifferent faiths who are probably Britishcitizens, it is reasonable to conclude thatwhen the Bible uses these terms it is talkingabout people of different faiths and cultures,consequently the lessons described thereare pertinent to our context.

4

You may have discovered by skimming through the Bible that there is far morediscussion about how to treat foreigners than about what they believe. Of course, thepeople of Israel were told again and again not to get involved with idol worship or toworship anything or anyone other than God (Exodus 20:22–23; Joshua 24:14–24).Topreserve the purity of their worship, God even ordered them to kill anyone whosuggested worshipping other gods (Deuteronomy 13:10).These are difficult passagesand need to be seen in their cultural context.Yet when the people of Israel foundthose of other faiths living nearby, God wanted to equip them for good relationships.

Bible principles on relating to those of other faithsThese Biblical principles are important for relating to children from different religiousbackgrounds today.Treat them with fairness and make sure they receive justice(Leviticus 19:9–10,33–34; Zechariah 7:8–10)When children of other faiths come to anevent or club we are running, do we treatthem fairly? Lots of people say,‘I treatthem all the same’, which often meanswe treat them all as white children.Wedon’t ask the white children to act asAsian, but we might, unthinkinglyperhaps ask the Asians to act white. (Ifyou are unsure about this issue, look forsome training on diversity orunconscious bias,The Church of EnglandBirmingham offers support and advice onthis). For example, we are very unlikely toask non-Muslims to wear headscarves butwe might ask Muslim children to play agame that involves physical contact betweenboys and girls which may make many Muslimsfeel uncomfortable.Love them (Deuteronomy 10:18,19; Mark 12:31)Easy to say but not so easy to do! These Bible verses may challenge prejudices.Wemay not be overtly racist, but we may make stereotypical assumptions about the Sikhlads we see driving round or Muslim women who are completely veiled. Do we lovethe asylum seekers who have moved into our area? How patient are we withsomeone serving us in the shop who can hardly speak English? If we love someonethen we are pleased to see them and spend time with them. Do we love people ofother faiths living near us? How might we show this love to them?

ThinkaboutLook at how people of otherfaiths are talked about in themedia, or by people in yourchurch.Are God’s commandsbeing obeyed? Think aboutthe provision your churchmakes for children of otherfaiths compared with provisionfor children who are Christiansor of no particular faith. Doesthis challenge you or yourchurch?

5

Serve them unconditionally (Matthew 25:31–46)We don’t know what happened to the people who are served in this story and we donot know whether they were or were not believers in Christ, but the emphasis is onwhether people did or did not serve others in a Christlike way. Putting this parable inthe context of the rest of the Gospel we have toconclude that just serving is not the wayof salvation. But what this parableemphasises is that God wants hispeople to serve others regardlessof whether the people beingserved make any sort ofcommitment to Jesus as a result– a reflection of Jesus’ servantministry. Jesus washed thedisciples’ feet, an act of totalhumility, and then commanded hisdisciples to follow his example ofservanthood (John 13:1–17). Hisserving was not a means to an end,but an end in itself.Jesus constantly served otherswithout demanding a response,although, of course, there wereoccasions when he did challenge people tofollow him.The results in the encounters abovewere dramatic. People’s immediate needs were met (they were healed) and somewent on to follow Jesus or to praise God, although we’re not told whether theyrealised who Jesus was.The serving also had a wider impact on the people whowitnessed what Jesus had done. Notice that his unconditional serving was extended toboth Jews and non-Jews.Working with children of other faiths is different to other children’s work. Parentsmay be happy for their children to hear Bible stories and receive good, moral andGod-centred teaching from Christians. But they may be strongly opposed to theirchildren leaving their faith to become a Christian.

In realityI once visited a very ‘white’ city with a group of Pakistani Muslims.As a whiteChristian, I experienced the negative reaction to our group – parents who movedtheir children away from us, people who laughed and pointed.To stand with thoseyoung people was a lesson for me in experiencing unfairness.

ThinkaboutLook at these miracles and meetings:Luke 5:17–26; Luke 7:1–10,11–17;Luke 17:11–19; John 4:1–42.Thenconsider these questions.• Whom did Jesus serve?• What did they ask of Jesus?• What did he do for them?• How did the person who wasserved respond?• How did the people who witnessedthe miracle respond?

6

How do we balance our respect for the wishes of parents with our desire to seechildren meet Jesus in a personal way? Our ministry needs to be marked by awillingness to serve rather than by how many converts we can boast about.Tomeasure ‘success’ by how far we have been able to follow Jesus’ example of servingunconditionally can be liberating and refreshing. It is God who changes lives throughour serving by the power of the Holy Spirit.This is the source of our hope.

In realityOne church holiday club had many Muslim children register.The leadership team spenta long time discussing beforehand how they would evaluate the success of theirprogramme. In the end, their top success criteria were how far the team had servedothers and how far they had shown genuine love for the children and their families.Being freed from the pressure of counting the numbers who attended or who made aresponse helped the team understand their role, gave them confidence and reducedfeelings of failure or guilt.

So the response the children make to Christ is ultimately up to themIt reflects the way Jesus worked, serving, caring and teaching without pushing peopleto make declarations of faith or make the ‘right’ response although many obviously didbecome followers.As with the woman of Samaria, people sometimes a glimpse of whoJesus really is through our words our lives.At other times, we simply have to trustGod to do his work in his way and time and never know what’s gone on.Theimportant thing is that regardless of response, Jesus continued to serve people.Youmight say that it looks as though all we are doing is amateurish social work, withoutmuch Christian impact. But the following passages suggest a much more distinctiveand radical motivation: Deuteronomy 10:17–22, Mark 12:30,31 and John 13:3–5.Thelove and care we have experienced from God is the basisfor our serving.We don’t serve because we are niceor because we feel guilty, but because weourselves have been served. Our serving will bemarked by a self-sacrificial love for thechildren that echoes God’s love for us and forthem (Deuteronomy 10:18).

ThinkaboutWhat are the needs of thechildren of different faithsin your community andaround the neighbourhoodof your church? Are youwilling to keep on servingeven though you don’t seeanyone becoming aChristian?

7

What the Bible says about children in theircommunity and familyTo honour and obey their parentsThere are many general instructions for all people which include children. But there isprobably only one instruction directly for children: to honour and obey their parents(Exodus 20:12, Ephesians 6:1–3). Many children of other faiths come from cultureswhere respect for family and respect for family authority has a far higher prominencethan is the case for many western families. If a child wants to follow Jesus, helping themobey this command is probably one of the best things they can do.Some people are called to be different and count the cost,but not all, all of the timeGod doesn’t ask everyone to stand up and be counted as Daniel had to. Daniel and hisfriends stood out from the crowd and faced a fiery furnace and a den of lions.However, the other Israelites in exile were told to settle down, to seek the peace andprosperity of Babylon (Jeremiah 29:4–7).We must be careful not to place burdens onchildren to be different and count the cost, burdens that God is not giving them.Or take the case of Naaman (2 Kings 5). Elisha seemedto understand Naaman’s dilemma in serving hismaster. Naaman went to Elisha and asked forforgiveness for when, in the future, hewould have to bow down to his master’sgod, Rimmon. Elisha’s response was,“Go inpeace!” (2 Kings 5:17–19). Sometimes itseems that faithfulness to God can best belived out in quieter or more hidden ways,for the good of the individual and the widercommunity.

In realityWhen we set up a holiday club for Muslim children, we made sure that before parentsbooked for their children to come, they knew we were Christians and would betelling Bible stories.We were providing this ‘service’ because of our faith in Jesus.

ThinkaboutLook back at the passageswe’ve considered. How mightthese influence your ministrywith children of other faiths?How might they influenceyour relationship with God?What do you think God issaying to you and the widerchurch through them?

8

The children you maymeet

Believing, belonging, behaving!For some years, churches havebeen challenged to identifywhat exactly definessomeone as a member of achurch. Is it by the way theylive their lives, what theysay and do, or the fact thatthey have chosen to belongor because they haveagreed in their minds to aset of truths about Christ?Which comes first and are allthree equally important anddefining? This debate is relevantto our thinking here.Adherents of other faiths maynot express their belonging to afaith community in quite the sameway as Christians do, emphasisingpractice as the way to identify which faiththey belong to. For some it may be a badge of identity, ‘I am a Muslim in name only’and nothing more.This is also true for people who call themselves Christian as acultural tag or because they are British, but who have little or no connection withChristianity as a lived faith.What makes things more confusing is that even within onefaith religious practices can vary from family to family. For example, some Hindufamilies and communities do not necessarily worship the same representation of god.In many faith communities belonging is corporate and therefore children often equatereligion with the community of which they are part, expecting all people from thatcommunity to share the same faith. Research has shown that children seldomacknowledge that someone with the same mother tongue might be of a different faithcommunity.They need help in exploring how the experiences and values of particularcultures are worked out in different faith communities. For example Hindus, Sikhs,

ThinkaboutAnswer the following hypothetical quizquestion.You are a Christian because you:a Go to church on Sunday;b Celebrate Christmas and Easter;c Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and haveasked him to be your personal saviour;d Have Christian parents;e Live in a Christian country.You may have highlighted ‘c’ as the keyphrase since belief is essential to being aChristian and it is belief that influencesactions. But is it that simple?

9

Muslims, Christians and others from the Indian subcontinent may all share the samecultural values of hospitality, respect for older people and consideration of the family’srather than the individual’s interests. If children from this culture assume that Britain isa Christian country and, therefore, white British families are Christian, they mayassume that the things they do are Christian. It is not surprising that certain aspects ofBritish culture are understood as being accepted Christian practice. Ethnicity, cultureand religion are being confused.Another way children identify themselves as belongingto a particular faith community is by contrasting their practice with those of otherfaiths. Children are very observant and recognise that thesedifferences help to define the identity of theirclassmate.Whilst this can be very positive it is notalways clear because the significance of religiousidentity varies. For example, research amongstchildren in mixed faith schools has highlightedthat children from a white British familybackground are often regarded by others andthemselves as Christian because they are notMuslim or Hindu or Sikh. In this instance Christianis a default term.Children are educated and live in a rich diversity ofcultures and faith groups. It is important for thosewho work with children to keep on listening andasking questions.This is the key to understanding andbeing sensitive to the different ways children and adults identifythemselves and others.

In realityAfter being in school for a few weeks aYear 4 boy came to the head teacher indistress. In broken English he explained that he did not want to eat his dinner off ablue plate (which indicated he was not a vegetarian) because he wasn’t a Christian. Heassumed that it was only Christians who had blue plates. He had not associated thedifferent colour of plates with types of food eaten but thought it indicated whichreligion you were.

In realityIn conversation about what food we like and don’t like,Anaparma commented thatshe made tea differently to Christians. She assumed that it was Christian not to usespices but to put cold milk in first, followed by the tea infused hot water and sugar,whereas this is only a white English way of making tea.The Scots often put milk inafter the tea! (Readers may choose to disagree!) There are lots of recipes online formaking spicy Masala tea like Anaparma – why not give it a go?

ThinkaboutLook at the advertisinghoardings in your localarea. Could they be seen torepresent a Christianlifestyle? What messages dothey give?

10

It’s not just faith…English as an additional languageEnglish may not be the first language for many children. Consequently, it is importantto think about the words you use and concepts you are trying to explain.There aremany words and concepts in the Bible that are not part of everyday use and have aparticular accepted meaning for Christians. Build infun ways to check that children know whatyou mean when you use them.For example, practice explaining themeaning of the following words asclearly as possible in just a fewsentences.SinForgivenessParableDiscipleConsider opportunities to help childrenand their families develop their acquisitionof the language by providing English classesfor parents and extra lessons for thechildren.There are a wide range of courseson offer that would train you to teach English asa foreign language. Look online to see what is available.Asylum seekers and refugeesYou may be working with children who have been granted refugee status or who areseeking asylum.They may be seeking asylum with both their parents or with only oneparent or be separated from parents through the events that instigated their flight.They may be living with trauma resulting from what they have seen, heard or evenexperienced. Loss of a familiar environment is often compounded by being in a strangeplace, needing to learn a new language and being bewildered by the process ofclaiming refugee status.You may find that the most important thing you can do inthese early stages is to support the child and family in their everyday life:• Explain how the school system works• Provide appropriate equipment such as school bags, pencil cases, sports wear• Support their acquisition of English• Provide places of quiet such as homework clubs, or safe places to let off steam suchas after-school clubs• Support the family by providing English classes for parents and help to completeofficial documents.

ThinkaboutThink of a child you know andbrainstorm all the things thatinfluence how they understand theworld, how they react to peers andadults, what their hopes anddreams are. If you work withothers share your thoughts andtalk about how this affects theway you plan the things youdo with the children you aremeeting.

11

The second/third generationsNot all migration is the result of asylum seeking.The UK has a rich history of peoplechoosing to live and work here from all parts of the world.The children of thesesettlers who are born in the UK are often referred to as second or third generation.They are usually fluent in both English and their mother tongue and become peoplewho span two cultures.These two different cultures can be in conflict and causeconfusion leaving the child neither one thing nor the other, but this is not always thecase. Research has shown that many move easily from one situation to another, feelingat home in both and wanting to preserve elements of both cultures in their lives.It is important therefore to recognise the different influences that are helping to shapethese second and third generation children, the values that stem from the family andfaith community and those that are learned at school, from the media and generallybeing part of British society.

In realityA mother, who had recently arrived in England, began to attend a parent and carergroup with her baby where she soon felt a measure of acceptance. She then enrolledher 6-year-old son in the holiday club, where he needed continuous one-to-onesupport throughout the week. She was so grateful to the church because her son hadsuch a wonderful week. He had begun his schooling in England at a special schoolbecause he could not speak and was very disruptive. But he had learned fast and wasabout to move into mainstream schooling. He had in fact, for the first five years of hislife, never played outside and never played with other children because his parentslived in fear in their home country.

12

Getting startedJust asking how you might begin working with children of other faith backgroundsshows that you have already started.Already you may be spotting children and familieswho live in the next street or attend the same school as your children and wonderinghow you can get to know them.There is no set formula in getting started exceptperhaps that of prayer. But before praying about what you can do spend some timeresearching your area to find out more about the families who live there. If you feelyou are the only one in your church who is interested in working withthese children share what you have found out withyour friends and church.You may be surprisedthat others have also caught the vision.Whether alone or with others makeprayer for these families a priority.Choose the best venue for youractivity, whilst this may be the church,some activities may be better suited todifferent venues. Some families whohave never been in a church might findbringing their children to someone else’splaces of worship strange oruncomfortable. For example, sports couldbe run in a park or community centre, ahomework club may be possible to run onthe school premises.

Working with the familyChildren are part of families.Any work with children of other faiths must never losesight of this fact. Everything we do must be open and welcoming to families as well asthe children or young people themselves. Of course, families come in all shapes andsizes. One way to begin may be to set up a toddler group in your church and leafletthe local area inviting toddlers and their carers to attend.This could be the beginning

Practical ideas

ThinkaboutThe Church of England websiteshows the statistics for differentfaiths in every parish in thecountry, based on the censusdata.You can find out more atwww.churchofengland.org/about/work-other-faiths. List thedifferent ways you and yourchurch could serve thosepeople.

13

of a relationship with not just the child but the whole family and lead to otheropportunities like holiday clubs, homework clubs older siblings and English classes ordiscussion groups for the parents.

In realityThe ladies of a small church on a housing estate were aware that there was no placefor the young teenagers to meet their friends. Most of the teenagers were Muslim.Theladies set up a weekly club for the girls in the community centre in the middle of theestate. Each week the girls took part in craft activities and discussion groups andenjoyed the space to sit and chat with friends.

School assemblies (properly called CollectiveWorship)Schools are legally required to provide a daily act of collective worship that is ‘whollyor mainly or a broadly Christian character’. Schools respond to this requirement in avariety of ways. Schools with a large number of pupils from families of different faithsmay have applied to the local Standing Advisory Council for Religious Education(SACRE) for a determination, which is an exemption from the Christian element.Whilst this means that most of their collective worship does not reflect the broadtraditions of Christian belief it does not mean that none of them can.You may be oneof a number of visitors to the school from different faith communities.It is important to remember in the educational context of an assembly that thechildren have not chosen to be there. It is an opportunity to explain ‘what the Biblesays’ or ‘what Christians believe’.You may want to highlight both an application thatChristians may draw from the assembly and an application that is relevant to allpeople whether they are Christians or not.This allows everyone the opportunity totake part and reflect on something that is relevant to their own life. Be guided by theschool as to how they like to draw this time of reflection to a close. Many schools useguided silence with an agreed statement to signify the end of the time of reflectionwhilst others conclude with a prayer. It is important not to ask children to say, sing orpray things that they do not believe or that compromises their own faith.

In realityBefore I pray in collective worship, I share the following with the children:‘In amoment I am going to read a prayer. If you want to make this prayer your own, when Ihave finished, you can say “Amen” with me.That means that you agree. If you don’twant to or can’t for any reason, then that’s fine. Just sit quietly with your ownthoughts’. Usually ‘Amen’ echoes across the room from most pupils but there aresome who accept the permission offered in this opportunity to opt out.14

Holiday clubsOne way of serving the community is to provide activities for school-aged childrenduring the Easter or summer holidays or the half-term breaks of October andFebruary. Both parents and children will often welcome this.Think carefully about the content of these sessions. Make sure that you are very openin what you do and say.You may want to post a timetable of the day’s activities at thedoor of the hall so everyone is clear about what is happening.Why not invite parentsto stay for a drink and a chat in a separate room or build in a session where childrenshow the things they have learned and made? It is also useful to present the spiritualcontent of your club in a familiar format.All children experience school assembliesand therefore you may want to consider building on this model.

Using storiesOne of the best ways of explaining what Christians believe about God and the worldis through the sharing of stories. Children love stories and in particular love to be toldstories.They may sometimes however find it a challenge to distinguish between fictionand real-life stories.You want them to know that the events of Jesus’ birth, life, deathand resurrection actually happened but that other stories, such as parables, containimportant truths but are not accounts of actual events.When telling a story, try todifferentiate between the truths contained in it and the historical events thatoccurred.Someone once wrote that every story begins with ‘and’ and ends with ‘and’, becausesomething happened before the story begins and something happens after it.This istrue with the individual stories in the Bible.When you read or tell these individualstories you probably know what happened before or what will come next but thechildren may not.You may have the privilege of telling a story that has never beenheard before by the children. Never underestimate the power of hearing a story forthe first time!Of course, as the storyteller, you are part of the faith community that recognises thatthese Bible stories reveal something about the God you serve.The children you aresharing these stories with are probably not and therefore cannot see the stories withthe eyes of a believer.This will affect how they understand them.As you plan a storytelling session examineit yourself first, asking these questions:• What does this story tell me about God?• What does it tell me about the world God has made?• How do the characters relate to God and to each other?• What does that tell me about how I should relate to God?

15

You might want to note down your reflections and think about which ones you wantto focus on and how you can draw these ideas out of the story.Then practise howyou will begin your story and tell the middle part and the end. Prepare whateverstorytelling techniques you are going to use too.Whatever you do, don’t mess up astorytelling opportunity for lack of preparation!Don’t forget that the children who listen also bring to the story their own ideas aboutGod, the world and where they fit into it.Their ideas may be similar to yours or quitedifferent. One way to find this out is to build in questions as you tell the story:• What do you think he said or did?• How do you think they felt when this or that happened?You will probably be amazed at the insights the children have!

In realityI was recounting the story of Solomon who had to make the difficult decision as towho was the real mother of a baby claimed by two mothers as theirs. I had reachedthe part where he had decided to cut the baby in half. I described how he raised hisarm with his sword held high.A great intake of breath was heard across the room asthe children realised the implications of his actions and waited for the dreaded deedto take place.Why? They had never heard the story before and were mightily relievedwhen the real mother spoke out.

Everyone who tells Bible stories to children knows their power. It can be as if time issuspended as the tale unfolds and everyone, storyteller and audience alike, is carriedalong right to the end. Undoubtedly God is present at such an occasion and is workingin those present. Sometimes it is obvious, but not always and it’s in those times thatwe need to trust that God is making himself known.In talking to Nicodemus, Jesus told him,“The wind blows wherever it pleases.You hearits sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going”. So it is withus.The Holy Spirit may be doing something very powerful with his Word in the lives ofthose listening to it.

In realityDuring the story of the twelve spies I reached the point where ten of them toldMoses it was too dangerous to go on, whereas Joshua and Caleb argued that God hadtold them to go, so that’s what they should do. I asked the listening children frommany different faith backgrounds,‘Who did the people listen to, the ten or the two?’They all said the two because God had said to go.When I told them that in actual factthe people listened to the ten they were really stunned because the people had clearlydisobeyed God.16

Using songsWhen choosing songs to use with children from other faith backgrounds avoid songsthat are confessional (that is, ones that require the singer to be committed to God tobe sung with any meaning). Instead, look for songs that declare something of thenature of God. Many of the scriptural songs do just that.Think about the choice ofwords; are you asking children, through singing lyrics to confessional songs, to declarea faith they may not have?Songs of declaration about the nature ofGod, God’s activity in the world or aboutstories in the Bible:Great big God (Vineyard)The wise man built his houseupon the rock (trad)God is here (Nick and Becky Drake)Brand new day (Big Ministries)Profound Christian doctrine (orconfessional)In Christ alone (Natalie Grant)We want to see Jesus lifted high (Doug Horley)Here I am to worship (Hillsong)

ThinkaboutList a few of the songs yousang as a child or sing todaywith the children you workwith.Think about the wordscontained in those songsand make two columnsheaded Confession andDeclaration.Which songswould go where?

In realityOne experienced schools’ worker thinks carefully about the songs he includes forchildren to sing. Sometimes, he thinks that the theme of his collective worship isserved best by a playing a confessional song. He then he explains to the children he isgoing to sing a special song to God and invites them to listen.

Using ScriptureAll children have good memories and you may want to build in opportunities forremembering Bible verses when running Christian clubs at school or at church. If youare using memory verses in your sessions, think carefully about the verses you choose,why you have chosen those particular verses and which version of the Bible you areusing.This might be the first time the children have come across a verse so thinkabout whether they understand the words or if you need to unpack it. It can be

17

helpful to choose verses that explain who God is or give wisdom for living, avoidingverses that are confessional or confrontational.You may want to combine memoryverses with music and there are lots of fun songs that do just that.Think about where in your programme this would come as you may want to givechildren the option of not learning these verses. It is, however, good practice toprovide copies for them to take home and share with their families.

In realityThe children who attended our children’s club were mainly from the Gujaraticommunity and they loved singing Scripture songs. One of their favourites was ‘He’s arock’ by John Hardwick and after singing the words ‘Look up chapter 32 verse 4 ofDeuteronomy’ they did just that and were amazed that the words they were singingwere there in the Bible.

18

Ten top tips for working withchildren of other faiths

Do…• respect the faith and culture of the children.• use music, artwork and methods that are culturally appropriate.• be open and honest in the presentation of the Christian faith.• be open and honest about the content of what you are doing with parents and otheradults involved in their lives.• seek to build long-term friendships that are genuine and not dependent uponconversion.

Don’t…• assume they understand what you mean when you say you are a Christian.• criticise, ridicule or belittle other religions or cultures.• tell the children what their faith says or define it by what some of its adherents do.• ask children to say, sing or pray things that they do not believe or that compromisetheir own faith.• encourage them to make decisions that would put them in conflict with their family.

19

Useful resources

The Bible and Other Faiths:What does the Lord require of us? Ida Glaser, Global ChristianLibrary 2012DistinctlyWelcoming: Christian presence in a multifaith society, Richard Sudworth, ScriptureUnion 2007Vibrant Christianity in Multifaith Britain: Equipping the church for a faithful engagement withpeople of different faiths Andrew Smith, BRF 2018Hospitality, Service, Proclamation: Interfaith engagement as Christian discipleship TomWilson, SCM Press 2019Children’s perspectives on believing and belonging – this University of East London reportis on the Joseph Rowntree site: www.jrf.org.uk/knowledge/findings/socialpolicy/0375

20